System and method for location-based secured transfer of a service associated with a loyalty point between mobile devices

ABSTRACT

There are provided systems and methods for the location-based secured transfer of a service associated with a loyalty point between mobile devices. A first mobile device submits a services request to a central system, the request identifying a service and inclusive of the position (geographical location) of the first mobile device. The central system identifies service providers capable of fulfilling the request and account owners having sufficient loyalty points to fulfill the request that are in proximity to the first mobile device. Secure communications between the first mobile device and a second mobile device enable negotiations. The central system guides the first mobile device and the second mobile device to a predetermined location to enable secure communication of transaction information, payment information, personal information (needed to procure services), etc. The central system verifies the transaction, ensuring both the first and second mobile devices fulfill the agreed upon terms.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/097,041, filed Oct. 26, 2018 titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FORLOCATION-BASED SECURED TRANSFER OF A SERVICE ASSOCIATED WITH A LOYALTYPOINT BETWEEN MOBILE DEVICES, which is a 371 application of PCT Ser. No.PCT/US17/29806 filed on Apr. 27, 2017 titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FORLOCATION-BASED SECURED TRANSFER OF A SERVICE ASSOCIATED WITH A LOYALTYPOINT BETWEEN MOBILE DEVICES, which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/328,213, filed Apr. 27, 2016 titledSYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LOCATION-BASED SECURED TRANSFER OF A SERVICEASSOCIATED WITH A LOYALTY POINT BETWEEN MOBILE DEVICES, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

In general, loyalty currencies issued by airlines, credit cardcompanies, and the like, are not currencies in the general sense, butrather are akin to camp scrip or bartering for services. For example,airline miles are a guarantee of services, rather than having purchasingpower in their own right. The traveler surrenders a set number of miles,regardless of how those miles are earned, in exchange for a serviceprovided by the airline, i.e., a flight.

Every year, approximately 60 billion dollars in loyalty currencies gounredeemed. The causes for this vary, from users unaware that points ormiles expire, to the inability to use the points or miles for desiredpurchases/services. Several loyalty currencies prohibit the buying andselling of the currency among users, or using the currency for thirdparties, thereby maintaining a high degree of control over the valuethereof. Other currency issuers enact many rules regarding the usage ofcurrencies making it very difficult to redeem for anything of value.Additionally, point issuers generally provide limited categories ofservices to use points with.

Despite this, it is not uncommon for users to utilize their loyaltycurrency for the benefit of another. For example, a traveler may securean airline ticket for another using miles. Generally, airlines do notprohibit this provided it is actually the owner of the miles doing thepurchase. This is problematic for the user who desires to acquire aservice using such loyalty currency, but lacks a sufficient amount ofthe loyalty currency to do so. Some of the currency issuers sell theircurrencies, however the price is generally set by the issuer, withoutregard to market factors.

Due to the restrictions placed on use of loyalty currencies, it isincreasingly difficult to transfer such currencies between users. Toovercome this type of restriction, various entities facilitate exchangesbetween individuals. These entities, however, typically have arelationship with the currency issuer, thus resulting in both usersbeing disadvantaged in favor of the entity and the issuer. It would bedesirous to have a system and method that allows users to exchangecurrencies without the restrictions placed by the issuers.

A user may acquire loyalty currencies via use of credit cards and otherrewards programs, independent of the loyalty currency issuer, e.g.,airlines. In these instances, airlines sell at an undisclosed price, alarge number of miles to the credit card companies, which in turn offerthese miles as a reward for use of the credit card. These miles, ingeneral, are infrequently used, resulting in a loss for the user, but again for the airline and the credit card companies. It would bebeneficial to those users acquiring such miles to be able to transferthem to such other users that may have a need for such miles.

The problems in utilizing these loyalty currencies are typically a usermay not need the specific services or products being offered by thepoint's issuer. They may also lack the knowledge to navigate complicatedredemption rules set forth by the point's issuers and service providers.Additionally, they may not have sufficient amount of the needed currencyto procure a service. Acquiring additional currencies may involvecontacting the issuer and purchasing additional miles at a cost that isset by the issuer. It would be advantageous to provide a system andmethod that enables users to acquire additional amounts of loyaltycurrency from users that are not using theirs or desire to sell theirs.However, as discussed above, these loyalty currencies are generallynon-transferable. Further, it is difficult to identify those users withsufficient currency amounts by the user desiring to purchase suchcurrency. Instead, the user with the currency must exchange the currencyfor the service needed by the requesting user. This requires somemechanism to securely connect the two users, ensuring their respectiveprivacy while also ensuring that the buyer receives the service and theseller receives compensation. Further, there is no mechanism in place todetermine a suitable exchange rate between various loyalty currenciesand other currencies, real or otherwise. By creating a large network ofusers this would allow the users to find and exchange their points forservices they really need at the going rate.

What is needed is a secure system and method that enables theunrestricted exchange of digital data between users corresponding torestricted loyalty currencies.

Being that the point's value can fluctuate based on supply and demand,season, or value of the service provided, each sale is tracked andcontributes into that currencies average price.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, there is provided a system for transferringa service associated with a loyalty point to a first user device from asecond user device. The system includes a server that comprises aprocessor, and memory in communication with the processor. The memorystores instructions which are executed by the processor and which causethe processor to receive a request from a first user device over acommunications network, the request including first user identificationinformation and a service request, and identify at least one serviceprovider accepting a loyalty point for fulfilling the service request.The instructions further cause the processor to identify at least onesecond user device associated with a second user identification, thesecond user identification having sufficient loyalty points to procurethe requested service from the at least one identified service provider,and establish a secure communications link between the first user deviceand the at least one identified second user device, wherein the loyaltypoints associated with the second user identification are utilized toprocure the requested service from the at least one identified serviceprovider for the first user identification.

According to another aspect, there is provided a method for transferringa service associated with a loyalty point to a first user device from asecond user device. The method includes receiving a request via a website hosted by a server over a communications network, the requestincluding first user identification information and a service request,and identifying at least one service provider accepting a loyalty pointfor fulfilling the service request. The method further includesestablishing a secure communications link between the first user deviceassociated with the first user identification and a second user deviceassociated with a second user identification, the second useridentification having sufficient loyalty points to procure the requestedservice from the at least one identified service provider, andutilizing, in accordance with the secured communications link, theloyalty points by the second user identification via the second userdevice to procure the requested service for use by the first useridentification. In addition, the method includes communicating, via thesecured communications link, confirmation data indicative of theprocurement of the requested service from the second user device to thefirst user device.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a systemimplementing the method described above.

In accordance with yet another aspect, there is provided acomputer-readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by acomputer processor, perform the method described above.

In accordance with still another aspect, there is provided a system andmethod wherein a first user may utilize loyalty points to facilitate apurchase at a fixed location.

In accordance with yet another aspect, there is provided a system andmethod for transferring a service associated with multiple loyaltypoints to a first user device from one or more additional user devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1B are a functional block diagram of a system forlocation-based secured transfer of a service associated with a loyaltypoint between mobile devices in accordance with one aspect of theexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the system for location-based securedtransfer of a service associated with a loyalty point between mobiledevices in accordance with one aspect of the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a first mobile device used inthe system for location-based secured transfer of a service associatedwith a loyalty point in accordance with one aspect of the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a control device used in thesystem for location-based secured transfer of a service associated witha loyalty point in accordance with one aspect of the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for location-based securedtransfer of a service associated with a loyalty point between mobiledevices according to a first mobile device in accordance with one aspectof the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for location-based securedtransfer of a service associated with a loyalty point between mobiledevices according to a second mobile device in accordance with oneaspect of the exemplary embodiment

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for location-based securedtransfer of a service associated with a loyalty point between mobiledevices according to a server in accordance with one aspect of theexemplary embodiment

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for location-based securedtransfer of a service associated with a loyalty point between mobiledevices according to the server of FIGURE C in accordance with oneaspect of the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 provides an illustration of a graphical user interface associatedwith interactions with the marketplace in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 10 provides an illustration of a graphical user interfaceassociated with the mobile devices in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more embodiments will now be described with reference to theattached drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer tolike elements throughout. Aspects of exemplary embodiments related tosystems and methods for location-based secured transfer of a serviceassociated with a loyalty point between mobile devices are describedherein. In addition, example embodiments are presented hereinafterreferring to mobile devices, however, application of the systems andmethods set forth can be made in other areas, as will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art.

As briefly discussed above, there are provided systems and methods tolocation-based secured transfer of a service associated with a loyaltypoint between mobile devices to enable a first mobile device (i.e., abuyer device) to locate a second mobile device (i.e., a local pointsowner or service provider) through global positioning system (“GPS”)and/or WIFI signals capable of servicing a request from the first mobiledevice. Buyer makes a payment to the point owner and the points ownerprovides the requested service/products. The points owner can in turnpurchase another service from another user in the network with the fundshe received in his virtual account thus allowing him to exchange hispoints for a service provided by another loyalty points issuer. Such anetwork increases the likelihood of finding a useful service andproducts with points. It also allows users to pay for services to anyonewho wants to accept the virtual network currency as payment, by firstexchanging the points they hold for cash, similar to transacting with acredit card.

With reference to FIGS. 1A-1B, there is shown a location-based securedtransfer of a service associated with a loyalty point between mobiledevices system 100 configured for providing secure exchange ofinformation between mobile devices and preventing fraud related thereto.It will be appreciated that the various components depicted in FIGS.1A-1B are for purposes of illustrating aspects of the exemplaryembodiment, and that other similar components, implemented via hardware,software, or a combination thereof, are capable of being substitutedtherein.

As shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, the system 100 includes a central system 101represented generally as the server 102, which is capable ofimplementing the exemplary method described below. The exemplary server102 includes a processor 104, which performs the exemplary method byexecution of processing instructions 106 that are stored in memory 108connected to the processor 104, as well as controlling the overalloperation of the server 102.

The instructions 106 include a loyalty point identification component110 that identifies loyalty point programs 172 that corresponded to areceived request 130 that specifies a particular good or service, e.g.,a hotel room, an airline flight, a cup of coffee, etc. It will beappreciated that myriad loyalty programs are known in the industry,allowing for rewards to those customers utilizing the underlying serviceor purchasing goods from particular points issuers 128, e.g., stores,airlines, hotels, car rental companies, restaurants, and the like.

The instructions 106 may also include a rule analysis component 112 thatis configured to determine the rules 170 governing the loyalty pointsprograms 172 identified by the identification component 110. Inaccordance with some embodiments contemplated herein, the analysiscomponent 112 is configured to determine whether the service/product 132contained in the request 130 is capable of being fulfilled by theidentified loyalty points programs 172. For example, some loyalty pointsprograms 172 do not allow for the sale/transfer of points 133, somerequire certain conditions be met, some have blackout dates whereinredemption of points 133 is not allowed, and myriad other restrictionson points 133 being used.

The instructions 106 may further include an identifying component 114that searches for accounts 126 of users and identifies those accounts126 with points 133 corresponding to the identified loyalty pointprograms 172.

The instructions 106 may also utilize a splitting/topoff calculationcomponent 116 that is configured to identify the various combinations oftransactions 168 that will result in a sufficient number of loyaltypoints 133 to fulfill the request 130. In some embodiments, thecalculation component 116 may work in conjunction with the identifyingcomponent 114 to identify those accounts 126 that may have sufficientpoints 133 to combine or meet the requirements of the request 130. Forexample, the calculation component 116 may identify, with theidentifying component 114, a plurality of accounts 126 that, whileseparately do not have sufficient points 133 to fulfill the request 130,may together provide sufficient loyalty points 133. Additionally, thecalculation component 116 may be configured to calculate the costsassociated with splitting an account 126, i.e., only utilizing a portionof the points 133 in the account 126. In some instances, it may be costeffective to purchase only a small percentage of the available points133 in a particular account 126 and repeat this for multiple accounts126 to acquire sufficient loyalty points 133 to fulfill the request 130.

The instructions 106 in memory 108 may also include a mapping component118 configured to receive location data, e.g., GPS coordinates,addresses, WiFi location information, IP address information, and thelike, from disparate devices 300 and 400.

In addition, the instructions 106 may include a verification component120 configured to verify transactions 168 between user accounts 126. Inaccordance with one embodiment, the verification component 122 isconfigured to monitor transactions 168 submitted by the first mobiledevice 300 or communicated by the second mobile device 400 correspondingto the exchange of loyalty points 133 therebetween. The verificationcomponent 122 may output results to the rating component 124, whereuponthe rating component 124 utilizes these results in ranking and ratingaccount owners 126, loyalty programs 172, valuations 180, and the like.It will be appreciated that other actions may be undertaken andperformed by the verification component 122 with respect to thetransactions 168 including, for example and without limitation,escrowing payments, rectifying transfers, establishing securecommunications with devices 300, 400, establishing secure communicationswith loyalty programs 172, verifying confirmation information, and thelike.

The instructions 106 stored in memory 108 may also utilize an exchangecomponent 122 configured to track all transactions 168 between buyersand sellers (i.e., account owners 126, service providers 150, etc.),including any monetary values 180 associated therewith. The exchangecomponent 122 may further be configured to generate exchange rates 176for loyalty points 133 in accordance with the aforementionedtransactions 168. In one embodiment, the exchange rates 176 are storedin the data storage 144 (discussed below) and provided to the firstmobile device 300 (i.e., the buyer), the second mobile device 400 (i.e.,the seller/service provider 126, 150 upon login or request to the server102) for use during negotiations, setting prices of loyalty points 133,and the like. In such an embodiment, the exchange rates 176 may be tiedto an intermediate point, wherein the servicer 102 tracks, in real time,multiple service transfers amongst users utilizing a varying loyaltypoints 133 relative to the aforementioned intermediate point. Theexchange component 122 may then determined, from this tracking, theexchange rate(s) 176 relating each of the various loyalty points to theintermediate point. In further implementations, the amounts of loyaltypoints 133 needed for services may be determined relative to theintermediate point using the determined exchange rate 176. It will beappreciated that this information may be forwarded to the disparatedevices 300 and 400 for generation on the respective associated display,including, for example and without limitation, graphical indiciarepresentative of each loyalty point relative to the intermediate point.

Furthermore, the instructions 106 may utilize a rating component 124configured to collect user ratings 152, relating to transactions 168 towhich a particular user was involved. The rating component 124 mayfurther be configured to rate various loyalty programs 172, loyaltyprogram points issuers 128, rules 170, and the like. In someembodiments, the ratings 152, 158 output by the rating component 124 arepresented to users during transactions, searches, and the like. It willbe appreciated that other uses of ratings 152 and 158 may also becontemplated and utilized hereinafter. In some embodiments, the ratings152, 158 are presented in conjunction with lists of user accounts 126 ona first mobile device 300 in response to a request 130 for services.

The various components of the server 102 associated with the centralsystem 101 may all be connected by a data/control bus 138. The processor104 of the server 102 is in communication with an associated datastorage 144 via a link 146. A suitable communications link 146 mayinclude, for example, the public switched telephone network, an Internetconnection, a proprietary communications network, infrared, optical, orother suitable wired or wireless data communications. The data storage144 is capable of implementation on components of the server 102, e.g.,stored in local memory 108, i.e., on hard drives, virtual drives, or thelike, or on remote memory accessible to the computer system 102. Variouscomponents depicted in the data storage 144 may also be accessible bythe server 102 via third party service providers, e.g., airline servers,publicly accessible websites, proprietary databases, and the like,

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that in some embodiments, theassociated data storage 144 corresponds to any organized collections ofdata used for one or more purposes. Implementation of the associateddata storage 144 may occur on any mass storage device(s), for example,magnetic storage drives, a hard disk drive, optical storage devices,flash memory devices, or a suitable combination thereof. The associateddata storage 144 may be implemented as a component of the server 102,e.g., resident in memory 108, hosted by third parties, or the like.

In one embodiment, the associated data storage 144 may include datacorresponding to account owners (users/members) 126, points issuers 128,service providers (sellers/businesses/may be points issuer 128 as well,etc.) 150, member ratings 152, inventory management information 154,reports 156, loyalty program ratings 158, market hours 160, payments164, airline/hotel information 162, route information 166, loyaltyprograms 172, loyalty program rules and conditions 170, loyalty programtrading information 174, splitting/topoff calculations 178, exchangerates 176, portfolio management information 182, loyalty programvaluations 180, inventory 184, partner options, loyalty programdescriptions 186, requests 130, lists 131, points 133, services/products132, and the like.

The server 102 may include one or more input/output (I/O) interfacedevices 134 and 136 for communicating with external devices. The I/Ointerface 134 may communicate, via communications link 148, with one ormore of a display device 140, for displaying information, such estimateddestinations, and a user input device 142, such as a keyboard or touchor writable screen, for inputting text, and/or a cursor control device,such as mouse, trackball, or the like, for communicating user inputinformation and command selections to the processor 104.

It will be appreciated that the system 100 is capable of implementationusing a distributed computing environment, such as a computer network,which is representative of any distributed communications system capableof enabling the exchange of data between two or more electronic devices.It will be further appreciated that such a computer network includes,for example and without limitation, a virtual local area network, a widearea network, a personal area network, a local area network, theInternet, an intranet, or the any suitable combination thereof.Accordingly, such a computer network comprises physical layers andtransport layers, as illustrated by various conventional data transportmechanisms, such as, for example and without limitation, Token-Ring,Ethernet, or other wireless or wire-based data communication mechanisms.Furthermore, while depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B as a networked set ofcomponents, the system and method are capable of implementation on astand-alone device adapted to perform the methods described herein.

The server 102 may include a computer server, workstation, personalcomputer, cellular telephone, tablet computer, pager, combinationthereof, or other computing device capable of executing instructions forperforming the exemplary method.

According to one example embodiment, the server 102 includes hardware,software, and/or any suitable combination thereof, configured tointeract with an associated user, a networked device, networked storage,remote devices, or the like.

The memory 108 may represent any type of non-transitory computerreadable medium such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), magnetic disk or tape, optical disk, flash memory, or holographicmemory. In one embodiment, the memory 108 comprises a combination ofrandom access memory and read only memory. In some embodiments, theprocessor 104 and memory 108 may be combined in a single chip. Thenetwork interface(s) 134, 136 allow the computer to communicate withother devices via a computer network, and may comprise amodulator/demodulator (MODEM). Memory 108 may store data the processedin the method as well as the instructions for performing the exemplarymethod.

The digital processor 104 can be variously embodied, such as by a singlecore processor, a dual core processor (or more generally by a multiplecore processor), a digital processor and cooperating math coprocessor, adigital controller, or the like. The digital processor 104, in additionto controlling the operation of the computer 102, executes instructions106 stored in memory 108 for performing the method outlined in FIGS. 5-8.

The system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1B may include a first mobiledevice 300 that may be in intermittent communication with the centralsystem 101 via a communication link 188. In one embodiment, the firstmobile device 300 may be implemented as a smartphone employing anoperating system such as iOS, ANDROID, BLACKBERRY, WINDOWS, or the like.Such first mobile device 300 may include a thin client 322 operable tointeract with the server 102, access a web page hosted by the server102, display data received from the server 102, and the like. In anotherembodiment, an application 320 may be resident on the first mobiledevice 300, as discussed below, and configured to enable theaforementioned interaction with the server 102. The first mobile device300 is representative of any personal computing devices, such aspersonal computers, netbook computers, laptop computers, workstationcomputers, personal data assistants, web-enabled cellular telephones,tablet computers, proprietary network devices, or other web-enabledelectronic devices. The data communications link 188 between the centralsystem 101 and the first mobile device 300 may be accomplished via anysuitable channel of data communications such as wireless communications,for example Bluetooth, WiMax, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11(x), aproprietary communications network, infrared, optical, the publicswitched telephone network, or any suitable wireless data transmissionsystem, or wired communications. In one embodiment, the first mobiledevice 300 may communicate with the central system 101 via a cellulardata network. It will be appreciated that the first mobile device 300need not maintain a constant connection to the central system 101.

Turning now to FIG. 2 , there is shown an overview of a system inaccordance with one embodiment of the subject application. As shown inFIG. 2 , which simulates operations with respect to FIGS. 1A-1B, amarketplace 200, representative of a website hosted by the server 102,is shown in communication with a plurality of devices. A pointsreseller, i.e., a seller utilizing a second mobile device 400 (discussedbelow), a points issuer 128, and service provider 150 (which may beassociated with the second mobile device 400) communicate/list points133 for sale on the marketplace 200. Consumers, i.e., a first mobiledevice 300 (discussed below), investors 202 (non-users of points 133),and sellers (second mobile device 400) each interact between themarketplace 200 (representative of the server 102 facilitating thetransactions 168 between devices 300 and 400) and service providers 150(entities providing goods/services 132 in exchange for loyalty points133). FIG. 9 provides an illustration of a graphical user interface viawhich a user interacts with the marketplace 200 in accordance with oneaspect of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein. Operations of thesystems 100, 200 depicted in FIGS. 1A-2 will be better understood inconjunction with FIGS. 5-8 discussed below.

FIG. 3 provides an example illustration of a mobile device 300representative of the first mobile device 300 depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B.The first mobile device 300 may include a processor 302, which executesone or more instructions or applications 320 in the performance of anexemplary method discussed below. The processor 302 may also execute athin client 322, operable to interact with a website hosted by theserver 102 and accessible via the Internet. The first mobile device 300may further include a memory 304 storing the application 320 and thinclient 322 in data communication with the processor 302 via a system bus306. The processor 302 of the first mobile device 300 may be in datacommunication with the server 102 of the central system 101 via an I/Ointerface 312. In one embodiment, the I/O interface 310 is implementedas a short-range communication component, such as, for example an NFCcomponent. In such an embodiment, the I/O interface 310 may beconfigured to receive information from a second mobile device 400, theinformation corresponding to transaction details during the exchange ofloyalty points 133 therebetween. In other embodiments, the short rangecommunication component may be implemented using any suitable shortrange communications protocol, and the use of NFC protocols is forexample purposes only. The first mobile device 300 may further include adisplay 308 suitably configured to display data to an associated user,receive input from the associated user, and the like. In someembodiments, the display 308 of the first mobile device 300 may beconfigured as a touch-screen display capable of receiving userinstructions via user contact on the display, e.g., LCD, AMOLED, LED,RETINA, etc., types of touch-screen displays. In other embodiments, thefirst mobile device 300 may include a camera 318, operable to captureimages, such as QR codes or other graphical/textual indicia associatedwith a transaction and generated on a screen 308 of the second mobiledevice 400. According to such an embodiment, the processor 302 mayprocess the captured image and determine the transaction details 168therefrom via the application 320, thin client 322, or other process.

The memory 304 may represent any type of non-transitory computerreadable medium such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), magnetic disk or tape, optical disk, flash memory, or holographicmemory. In one embodiment, the memory 304 comprises a combination ofrandom access memory and read only memory. In some embodiments, theprocessor 302 and memory 304 may be combined in a single chip. Thenetwork interface(s) 310, 312 allow the user device 300 to communicatewith other devices via a communications network, and may comprise amodulator/demodulator (MODEM). Memory 304 may store data the processedin the method as well as the instructions for performing the exemplarymethod. The digital processor 302 can be variously embodied, such as bya single core processor, a dual core processor (or more generally by amultiple core processor), a digital processor and cooperating mathcoprocessor, a digital controller, or the like.

The memory 304 of the first mobile device 300 includes the application320 communicated from the central system 101 during registration of theuser device 300. The application 320 stored in memory 304 may includeaccount information or other data related to interactions with theserver 102, the marketplace 200, and/or the second mobile device 400.

As shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, the first mobile device 300 is capable ofintermittent or continuous bi-directional communication with the server102 utilizing the I/O interface 312. In one embodiment, the bi-directioncommunication is data communication utilizing a cellular data network,e.g., 3^(rd) generation mobile phone standards (3G), 4^(th) generationstandards (4G, 4G LTE, WiMax), EV-DO, standalone data protocols, and thelike. The first mobile device 300 may provide account information to theserver 102 during registration therewith, login information duringtransactions 168, payment information 164, and the like. Duringregistration, the server 102 may communicate the application 320 to thefirst mobile device 300. The first mobile device 300, via the processor302, may then install the application 320 in memory 304.

The first mobile device 300 may further include a GPS transceiver 314operable to utilize satellite navigation signals from to determine theposition of the device 300. The device 300 may further include a WiFitransceiver 316, e.g., 802.11x, for communications as well as assistancein determining the position of the mobile device 300 utilizing basestation/access point coordinates, triangulation (in conjunction withcellular tower information), Internet Protocol (IP) address information,or the like. Preferably, the location information of the first mobiledevice 300 is communicated with the request 130 to the server 102, asdiscussed in greater detail below. In addition, it will be appreciatedthat the components 314 and 316 may be utilized during mappingoperations of the mapping component 118 of the server 102 to facilitatethe meeting of the first mobile device 300 with the second mobile device400, as addressed below.

The system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1B further includes at least oneadditional device, depicted therein as a second mobile device 400capable of data communication with the server 102 and the first mobiledevice 300. It will be appreciated that while shown as a mobile devicein FIG. 4 , the second device may be implemented as a fixed (i.e.,point-of-sale terminal, desktop computer, server, etc.) device at aparticular location, e.g., store, restaurant, airport counter, ticketingagency, etc. Those skilled in the art will appreciated that when fixed,the various location-based determinations provided below (particularlywith respect to FIGS. 5-8 ) may utilize that fixed position relative tothe first mobile device 300 for purposes of determining suitable accountowners 126 to facilitate the transfer of loyalty points 133, utilize thefixed position as the meeting location, and the like. A functional blockdiagram of the second mobile device 400 is depicted in FIG. 4 . As shownin FIG. 4 , the second mobile device 400 may include a processor 402,which executes one or more instructions or the application 320 in theperformance of an exemplary method discussed below. In one embodiment,the second mobile device 400, via the processor 402, is configured tooperate a thin client 322, which facilitates communication between thesecond mobile device 400 and the server 102 via the Internet. The secondmobile device 400 may further include a memory 404 storing theapplication 320 and/or thin client 322 in data communication with theprocessor 402 via a system bus 406. The processor 402 of the secondmobile device 400 may be in data communication with the server 102 viaan I/O interface 410 and the first mobile device 300 via an I/Ointerface 412. In one embodiment, the I/O interface 412 is implementedas a short-range communication component, such as, for example an NFCcomponent. In such an embodiment, the short-range communicationcomponent may be implemented using any suitable short-rangecommunications protocol, and the use of NFC protocols is for examplepurposes only. The second mobile device 400 may further include adisplay 408 suitably configured to display data to an associatedcontroller, receive input from the controller, and the like. In someembodiments, the display 408 of the second mobile device 400 may beconfigured as a touch-screen display capable of receiving userinstructions via user contact on the display, e.g., LCD, AMOLED, LED,RETINA, etc., types of touch-screen displays. In another embodiment, thedisplay 408 of the second mobile device 400 may be configured togenerate a QR code or other graphical/textual indicia of a transaction168 for scanning/image capture by a first mobile device 300.

The memory 404 may represent any type of non-transitory computerreadable medium such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), magnetic disk or tape, optical disk, flash memory, or holographicmemory. The memory 404 may include a combination of random access memoryand read only memory. In some embodiments, the processor 402 and memory404 may be combined in a single chip. The network interface(s) 410, 412allow the second mobile device 400 to communicate with other devices viaa communications network, and may comprise a modulator/demodulator(MODEM). Memory 404 may store data the processed in the method as wellas the instructions for performing the exemplary method. The processor402 can be variously embodied, such as by a single core processor, adual core processor (or more generally by a multiple core processor), adigital processor and cooperating math coprocessor, a digitalcontroller, or the like.

The memory 404 of the second mobile device 400 includes the application320 communicated from the central system 101 during registration of thesecond mobile device 400. The application 320 stored in memory 404 mayinclude account information or other data related to interactions withthe server 102, the marketplace 200, and/or the first mobile device 300.

As shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, the second mobile device 400 is capable ofintermittent or continuous bi-directional communication with the centralsystem 101 utilizing the I/O interface 410. As indicated above withrespect to the first mobile device 300, the bi-direction communicationis data communication utilizing a cellular data network. In someembodiments, the second mobile device 400 and the first mobile device300 may establish a short-range communication session, e.g., an NFCconnection, whereupon the applications 320 direct the respective devicesto exchange data to facilitate a transaction 168.

The second mobile device 400 may further include a GPS transceiver 414operable to utilize satellite navigation signals from to determine theposition of the device 400. The second mobile device 400 may furtherinclude a WiFi transceiver 416, e.g., 802.11x, for communications aswell as assistance in determining the position of the second mobiledevice 400 utilizing base station/access point coordinates,triangulation (in conjunction with cellular tower information), InternetProtocol (IP) address information, or the like. Preferably, the locationinformation of the second mobile device 400 is communicated to theserver 102 during acceptance of the transaction 168 and with thetransaction information 168 communicated thereto, as discussed ingreater detail below. In addition, it will be appreciated that thecomponents 414 and 416 may be utilized during mapping operations of themapping component 118 of the server 102 to facilitate the meeting of thefirst mobile device 300 with the second mobile device 400, as addressedbelow.

According to one embodiment, the second mobile device 400 may beimplemented as a point-of-sale (“POS”) terminal or desktop computerphysically located at a retailer, restaurant or other service/goodsproviding location. In such an embodiment, it will be appreciated thatthe first mobile device 300 may utilize loyalty points 133 (as discussedherein) to facilitate the purchase of goods/services at the physicallocation of the second device 400. Furthermore, the relative location ofthe first mobile device 300 relative to the second mobile device 400 maybe used by the second mobile device 400, as the POS, to increase thenumber of loyalty points 133 accorded to the first mobile device 300, ordecrease the number of loyalty points 133 needed to procure the servicesas a result of the relative origin proximity of the first mobile device300. That is, when the first mobile device 300 is already at theservice/goods providing location, the aforementioned benefit is accordedto the first mobile device 300.

The term “software,” as used herein, is intended to encompass anycollection or set of instructions executable by a computer or otherdigital system so as to configure the computer or other digital systemto perform the task that is the intent of the software. The term“software” as used herein is intended to encompass such instructionsstored in storage medium such as RAM, a hard disk, optical disk, or soforth, and is also intended to encompass so-called “firmware” that issoftware stored on a ROM or so forth. Such software may be organized invarious ways, and may include software components organized aslibraries, Internet-based programs stored on a remote server or soforth, source code, interpretive code, object code, directly executablecode, and so forth. It is contemplated that the software may invokesystem-level code or calls to other software residing on a server orother location to perform certain functions.

Turning now to FIG. 5 , there is shown an exemplary flowchart 500illustrating one example implementation of the methods described hereinwith respect to the first mobile device 300, i.e., the buyer device 300.As depicted in FIG. 5 , the first mobile device 300, at 502, accesses aweb site 200 hosted by the server 102 to create a user account 126stored on the associated data storage 144. In accordance with oneembodiment of the subject application, the first mobile device 300communicates user identification information along with locationinformation determined by the processor 302 via the GPS transceiver 314and/or WiFi transceiver 316.

At 504, a user, via the user interface 308 of the first mobile device300 submits a request 130 to the server 102 via the communications link188 for a specific product/service 132, or for a specific type/form ofloyalty points 133 and a total number of such loyalty points 133required. At 506, the first mobile device 300 receives and displays alist 131 of available account owners 126 and local service providers 150that are capable of fulfilling the request 130. It will be appreciatedthat the list 131 communicated from the server 102 to the first mobiledevice 300 is determined in accordance with the location informationincluded by the first mobile device 300 in the submitted servicesrequest 130. For example, the first mobile device 300 includes thecoordinates from the GPS transceiver 314 or IP address from the WiFitransceiver 316 in the request, which the server 102 utilizes to filterthe account owners 126 and/or service providers 150 in the data storage144 to those which are in relative proximity to the position of thefirst mobile device 300.

A selection of at least one of the account owners 126 and/or localservice providers 150 from the server 102 is then received at 508 andcommunicated to the selected account owner(s) 126 and/or local serviceprovider 150. At 510, the selected account owner(s) 126 and/or localservice provider(s) 150 are notified via secure communications of thesubmitted request 130. At 512-514, the first mobile device 300 and thesecond mobile device 400 (either associated with the selected accountowner 126 or local service provider 150) establish a securecommunications link 192 therebetween. The secure communications link192, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, may utilize anysuitable encrypted communications protocols, direct communicationsprotocols, or the like. Via this established secure communications link192, the price and terms of the exchange of loyalty points may benegotiated. FIG. 10 provides an illustration of the various screensdisplayed on the mobile device 300, 400 in accordance with oneembodiment of the subject application. It will further be appreciatedthat the use of local account owners 126 and/or service providers 150provides additional levels of security to the respective parties, asboth will reside in the same locales for purposes of exchanging theloyalty points 133 and completing the transaction 168.

At 516, the server 102 identifies a meeting location (using a suitablemapping application, e.g., GOOGLE Maps, APPLE Maps, MAPQUEST, etc., or aproprietary mapping application by the mapping component 118 resident onthe server 102) substantially equidistant between the current locationof the first mobile device 300 and the second mobile device 400. It willbe understood that when a local service provider 150 is selected, themeeting location may correspond to the physical location of the secondmobile device 400 (representative of the store, airport counter, etc.)of the service provider 150. In accordance with another embodiment, theusers may designate a mutually agreeable location to meet, whereupon theapplication 320 resident on the respective mobile devices 300, 400 willgenerate directions from their respective current locations to themeeting location. In another embodiment, the meeting location identifiedby the server 102 may include a list of available public meeting places,e.g., restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Regardless of the manner in whichthe meeting location is selected, each mobile device 300, 400 generatesstep-by-step directions, maps, and/or other instructions, directing themobile devices 300 and 400 toward each other and/or the meetinglocation.

In one implementation, the server 102 queries each mobile device 300,400 for their current locations after some acceptance of the transaction168 is indicated, and ascertains the list of suitable locations based onthe relative travel times of the mobile devices 300, 400 to suchlocations. For example, it may be farther to travel for the first mobiledevice 300 to location X, but require the same amount of time that itwill take the second mobile device 400 to travel to location X due totraffic, time of day, mode of travel, etc. In some instances, the usersmay designate their respective modes of travel (bicycle, walking, car,public transport), whereupon the server 102 queries the suitable routesand provides the list of locations in accordance therewith.

Once the first mobile device 300 and the second mobile device 400 are inrelative proximity to each other, e.g., suitable for scanning an imagefrom one device by the other or establishing an NFC connectiontherebetween, the second mobile device 400 (or the point of saleterminal for a fixed location service provider 150) generates details ofthe transaction regarding the exchange of loyalty points 133 between theusers. This generation may include, for example and without limitation,a QR code, a near-field-communications message, or the like, which isscanned by or securely communicated to the first mobile device 300 at518 for acceptance by the associated user/buyer.

From the first mobile device 300, the user/buyer accepts and renderspayment for the loyalty points/services to be facilitated by the accountowner 126 or service provider 150 associated with the second mobiledevice 400 at 520. In one embodiment, the first mobile device 300establishes a secure communication link to the server 102 so as toprovide authorization for the transfer of funds (payment 164) from theuser account 126 associated with the first mobile device 300 to the useraccount 126 associated with the second mobile device 400. Preferably,the first mobile device 300 communicates the transaction details 168, aswell as the current location of the first mobile device 300, to theserver 102. The server 102 may then query the second mobile device 400for its current location (ensuring that a valid transaction is occurringbetween the parties), to verify that the first mobile device 300 isactually communicating/accepting terms from a valid second mobile device400 (i.e., account owner 126 or service provider 150).

At 522, the server 102 confirms the transaction 168, closing the saleand ensuring that the suitable funds are transferred from the buyeraccount owner to the seller account owner, i.e., from the account owner126 of the first mobile device 300 to the account owner 126 of thesecond mobile device 400. It will be appreciated that in one embodiment,the server 102 may escrow the funds pending confirmation of theprovision of services 132 to the account owner 126 of the first mobiledevice 300. Suitable examples of such confirmation may include, forexample and without limitation, location-based tracking of the firstmobile device 300 for airline loyalty point transactions/hotel stays(rectifying the location of the first mobile device 300 with a locationof the hotel associated with the purchased loyalty points, etc.),receipt of confirmation information (i.e., ticket information in thename of the account owner 126 of the first mobile device 300) for ticketpurchases by the account owner 126 of the second mobile device 400, orthe like.

At 524, while in proximate location with each other, i.e., at themeeting location, the user associated with the first mobile device 300provides any necessary identification information to the user associatedwith the second mobile device 400 needed to procure the requestedservice 132. The user associated with the second mobile device 400 thenutilizes the loyalty points to procure the requested service (e.g.,books a flight, hotel, transfers loyalty points to another account,purchases the cup of coffee (STARBUCKS REWARDS), or the like) andprovides confirmation from the loyalty point issuer 128 that the servicewas procured, e.g., booked, at 526.

At 528, the requested service 132 or account 126 (i.e., the requestedservice may be the acquisition of loyalty points 133, wherein the actualaccount 126 in which the loyalty points 133 have accrued is transferredto the user associated with the first mobile device 300). The firstmobile device 300 then logs off of the website 200 hosted by the server102 at 530, thereby terminating operations with respect to FIG. 5 .

Referring now to FIG. 6 , there is shown an exemplary flowchart 600illustrating one example implementation of the methods described hereinwith respect to the second mobile device 400, i.e., the seller device400. As depicted in FIG. 6 , the second mobile device 400, at 602,accesses a web site 200 hosted by the server 102 to create a useraccount 126 stored on the associated data storage 144. In accordancewith one embodiment of the subject application, the second mobile device400 communicates user identification information along with locationinformation determined by the processor 402 via the GPS transceiver 414and/or WiFi transceiver 416.

At 604, a user, via the user interface 408 operative on the secondmobile device 400, posts an available number of loyalty points 133 forsale along with the desired sale price and terms/conditions tofacilitate the sale, to the server 102 via the communications link 190.For example, the seller may be selling an entire loyalty account, a setnumber of loyalty points 133, or variations thereof. At 606, the secondmobile device 400 receives and displays a list of local servicesrequests 130 that the account owner 126 associated with the secondmobile device 400 is capable of fulfilling. It will be appreciated thatthe list communicated from the server 102 to the second mobile device400 is determined in accordance with the location informationcommunicated by the second mobile device 400 when logging onto thewebsite 200 hosted by the server 102. For example, the second mobiledevice 400 includes the coordinates from the GPS transceiver 414 or IPaddress from the WiFi transceiver 416 during communication of logincredentials, which the server 102 utilizes to filter the requests 130the server 102 has received only to those mobile devices 300 within apredetermined location radius (relative to the location of the secondmobile device 400) and which the account owner 126 associated withsecond mobile device 400 is capable of fulfilling.

A selection of at least one of the service requests 130 from the server102 is then received at 608 and communicated to the selected mobiledevice 300 associated with the service request 130. At 610, the servicerequestor, i.e., the first mobile device 300 is notified via securecommunications that the account owner 126 associated with the secondmobile device 400 is capable of fulfilling the service request 130. At612-614, the first mobile device 300 and the second mobile device 400(with the selected account owner 126) establish a secure communicationslink therebetween. The secure communications link, as will beappreciated by those skilled in the art, may utilize any suitableencrypted communications protocols, direct communications protocols, orthe like. Via this established secure communications link, the price andterms of the exchange of loyalty points may be negotiated. It willfurther be appreciated that the use of local account owners 126 and/orservice providers 150 provides additional levels of security to therespective parties, as both will reside in the same locales for purposesof exchanging the loyalty points and completing the transaction.

At 616, the server 102 (as discussed above with respect to FIG. 5 )identifies a meeting location (using a suitable mapping application)substantially equidistant between the current location of the secondmobile device 400 and the first mobile device 300. It will be understoodthat when a local service provider 150 is associated with the secondmobile device 400, the meeting location may correspond to the physicallocation of the second mobile device 400 (representative of the store,airport counter, etc.) of the service provider 150. In accordance withanother embodiment, the users may designate a mutually agreeablelocation to meet, whereupon the application 320 resident on therespective mobile devices 300, 400 will generate directions from theirrespective current locations to the meeting location. In anotherembodiment, the meeting location identified by the server 102 mayinclude a list of available public meeting places, e.g., restaurants,coffee shops, etc. Regardless of the manner in which the meetinglocation is selected, each mobile device 300, 400 generates step-by-stepdirections, maps, and/or other instructions (or receives the same fromthe mapping component 118 of the server 102), directing the mobiledevices 300 and 400 toward each other and/or the meeting location. Inone implementation, the server 102 queries each mobile device 300, 400for their current locations after some acceptance of the transaction isindicated, and ascertains the list of suitable locations based on therelative travel times of the mobile devices 300, 400 to such locations.For example, it may be farther to travel for the first mobile device 300to location X, but require the same amount of time that it will take thesecond mobile device 400 to travel to location X due to traffic, time ofday, mode of travel, etc. In some instances, the users may designatetheir respective modes of travel (bicycle, walking, car, publictransport), whereupon the server 102 queries the suitable routes andprovides the list of locations in accordance therewith.

Once the first mobile device 300 and the second mobile device 400 are inrelative proximity to each other, e.g., suitable for scanning an imagefrom one device by the other or establishing an NFC connectiontherebetween, the second mobile device 400 (or the point of saleterminal for a fixed location service provider 150) generates details ofthe transaction 168 regarding the exchange of loyalty points 133 betweenthe users at 618. This generation may include, for example and withoutlimitation, a QR code, a near-field-communications message, or the like,which is scanned by or securely communicated to the first mobile device300 for acceptance by the associated user/buyer.

At 620, the account owner 126 associated with the second mobile device400 receives payment 164 from the first mobile device 300. According tovarying embodiments contemplated herein, the payment 164 may be directlycommunicated to the second mobile device 400 by the first mobile device300 via a suitable payment mechanism, e.g., GOOGLE WALLET, APPLE PAY,SAMSUNG, etc. In another embodiment, as discussed in detail above, thefirst mobile device 300 may establish a secure communication link to theserver 102 so as to provide authorization for the transfer of funds fromthe user account associated with the first mobile device 300 to the useraccount associated with the second mobile device 400. Preferably, thefirst mobile device 300 communicates the transaction details 168, aswell as the current location of the first mobile device 300, to theserver 102. The server 102 may then query the second mobile device 400for its current location (ensuring that a valid transaction 168 isoccurring between the parties), to verify that the first mobile device300 is actually communicating/accepting terms from a valid second mobiledevice 400 (i.e., account owner 126 or service provider 150).

At 622, the server 102 confirms the transaction, closing the sale andensuring that the suitable funds are transferred from the buyer accountowner to the seller account owner, i.e., from the account owner 126 ofthe first mobile device 300 to the account owner 126 of the secondmobile device 400. It will be appreciated that in one embodiment, theserver 102 may escrow the funds pending confirmation of the provision ofservices 132 to the account owner 126 of the first mobile device 300.Suitable examples of such confirmation may include, for example andwithout limitation, location-based tracking of the first mobile device300 for airline loyalty point transactions/hotel stays (rectifying thelocation of the first mobile device 300 with a location of the hotelassociated with the purchased loyalty points, etc.), receipt ofconfirmation information (i.e., ticket information in the name of theaccount owner 126 of the first mobile device 300) for ticket purchasesby the account owner 126 of the second mobile device 400, or the like.

At 624, while in proximate location with each other, i.e., at themeeting location, the user associated with the first mobile device 300provides any necessary identification information to the user associatedwith the second mobile device 400 needed to procure the requestedservice 132. The user associated with the second mobile device 400 thenutilizes the loyalty points to procure the requested service 132 (e.g.,books a flight, hotel, transfers loyalty points to another account,purchases the cup of coffee (STARBUCKS REWARDS), or the like) andprovides confirmation from the loyalty point issuer 128 that the service132 was procured, e.g., booked, at 626

At 628, the requested service 132 or account (i.e., the requestedservice 132 may be the acquisition of loyalty points 133, wherein theactual account in which the loyalty points 133 have accrued istransferred to the user associated with the first mobile device 300).The second mobile device 400 then logs off of the website 200 hosted bythe server at 630, thereby terminating operations with respect to FIG. 6.

Operations of the server 102 are addressed with respect to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 illustrates operations of the server 102 with respect tointeractions with the first mobile device 300. FIG. 8 provides anillustration of the operations of the server 102 with respect tofacilitating a transaction 168 between first mobile device 300 and thesecond mobile device 400. As shown in FIG. 7 , the server 102 receives arequest 130 from the first mobile device 300 for a service or product at702. In accordance with one embodiment of the subject application, therequest 130 further includes the location of the first mobile device300, submitted either in the request 130 itself or received by theserver 102 via login of the first mobile device 300 on the website 200hosted by the server 102.

The server 102 then identifies, at 704, available loyalty pointsissuer(s) 128 and/or account owner(s) 126 respectively offering theservice 132 and having sufficient loyalty points 133 capable of meetingthe request 130. In some instances, the server 102 will analyzeairline/hotel information 162, routes 166, and the like, to determinethe appropriate service provider 150 and thereafter the correspondingloyalty points issuer 128 and account owner(s) 126. In one embodiment,the server 102 filters the available issuers 128 and/or account owner(s)126 based upon the locations of such issuers 128 and account owners 126relative to the location of the first mobile device 300. The server 102then retrieves point rules 170 from the data storage 144 and analyzesthe rules 170 (via the rules component 112) to apply the rules 170 tothe identified account(s) 126 to identify available booking optionsresponsive to the request 130, if applicable.

The server 102 then communicates, at 708, a response 131 to the request130 via secure communications 188 with the first mobile device 300,either via the thin client 322 resident thereon, or directly via anapplication 320 resident on the first mobile device 300 facilitatingsecure communications 188 between the first mobile device 300 and theserver 102. In some embodiments, the response 131 from the server 102includes, for example and without limitation, information about theidentified points issuers 128 and account owners 126 with detailsrelating to the booking with the identified points accounts 126. Thatis, the server 102 communicates a list 131 to the first mobile device300 that includes those points issuers/services providers 128, 150and/or account owners 126 that not only are capable of fulfilling therequest 130, but also are in proximate geographic location to the firstmobile device 300. It will be appreciated that additional operations ofthe server 102 with respect to interaction thereof with the first mobiledevice 300 and/or the second mobile device 400 are discussed in greaterdetail above with respect to FIGS. 5 and 6 .

Turning now to FIG. 8 , operations of the server 102 with respect tofacilitating a transaction 168 between the first mobile device 300 andthe second mobile device 400 are illustrated therein. At 802, the server102 receives a request 130 for services/products from the first mobiledevice 300. At 804, the server 102 matches the first mobile device 300with a second mobile device 400 (as discussed in greater detail above).In accordance with varying embodiments, the server 102 may identify morethan one additional mobile device (not shown) associated with a seller,wherein each identified seller has the same or differing loyalty points133 that, when combined, are sufficient to procure the services for theuser of the first mobile device 300. For example, the server 102 mayidentify the second mobile device 400 as having a portion of airlinemiles (i.e. loyalty points) necessary for a requested airline ticket(i.e., the service) and a third mobile device (not shown) having loyaltypoints 133 (e.g. credit card points/miles) different from the secondmobile device 400, but which may be accepted by the service provider(e.g. airline) for providing the desired service, e.g., AMERICAN EXPRESSPOINTS which may be converted to the same loyalty points 133 as those ofthe second mobile device 400 and which are accepted by the serviceprovider.

The server 102 then verifies, at 806, that the account owner 126associated with the second mobile device 400, i.e., the seller, isavailable to provide the account owner associated with the first mobiledevice 300, i.e., the buyer, the service/product associated with therequest 130. In one embodiment, the server 102 may verify the respectivelocations of the devices 300, 400. In another embodiment, the server 102may communicate directly with the account owner via the second mobiledevice 400 to ensure that the loyalty points 133 are still available,the owner 126 is willing to proceed with the transaction 168, or myriadother steps to verify the account owner 126 associated with the secondmobile device 400 is capable of fulfilling the request 130.

In the example embodiment of FIG. 8 , the server 102 processes paymentdata 164 received from the first mobile device 300 to the benefit of theaccount owner 126 of the second mobile device 400. Payment confirmationis then communicated to the second mobile device 400 by the server 102at 810 via a message (SMS, MMS, email, instant messaging, proprietary orcommercially available secure application resident on the device 400,etc.) indicating the account owner 126 associated with the second mobiledevice 400 is clear to complete the transfer to the first mobile device300, procure the tickets (service 132), spend the loyalty points 133,transfer the loyalty points 133, etc. Thereafter, operations withrespect to FIG. 8 terminate.

Some portions of the detailed description herein are presented in termsof algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bitsperformed by conventional computer components, including a centralprocessing unit (CPU), memory storage devices for the CPU, and connecteddisplay devices. These algorithmic descriptions and representations arethe means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to mosteffectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in theart. An algorithm is generally perceived as a self-consistent sequenceof steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiringphysical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though notnecessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magneticsignals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, andotherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principallyfor reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values,elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the discussion herein,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

The exemplary embodiment also relates to an apparatus for performing theoperations discussed herein. This apparatus may be specially constructedfor the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computerselectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored inthe computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computerreadable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type ofdisk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, andmagnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random accessmemories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any typeof media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupledto a computer system bus.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatus to perform the methods described herein. The structure for avariety of these systems is apparent from the description above. Inaddition, the exemplary embodiment is not described with reference toany particular programming language. It will be appreciated that avariety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachingsof the exemplary embodiment as described herein.

A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). For instance, a machine-readable medium includes read onlymemory (“ROM”); random access memory (“RAM”); magnetic disk storagemedia; optical storage media; flash memory devices; and electrical,optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., carrierwaves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.), just to mention a fewexamples.

The methods illustrated throughout the specification, may be implementedin a computer program product that may be executed on a computer. Thecomputer program product may comprise a non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium on which a control program is recorded, such as a disk,hard drive, or the like. Common forms of non-transitorycomputer-readable media include, for example, floppy disks, flexibledisks, hard disks, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic storage medium,CD-ROM, DVD, or any other optical medium, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, aFLASH-EPROM, or other memory chip or cartridge, or any other tangiblemedium from which a computer can read and use.

Alternatively, the method may be implemented in transitory media, suchas a transmittable carrier wave in which the control program is embodiedas a data signal using transmission media, such as acoustic or lightwaves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared datacommunications, and the like.

It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined intomany other different systems or applications. Various presentlyunforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations orimprovements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in theart which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for transferring a service associatedwith a loyalty point to a first user device from a second user device,comprising: a server, comprising: a processor; and memory incommunication with the processor, the memory storing instructions whichare executed by the processor causing the processor to: receive arequest from a first user device over a communications network, therequest including first user identification information and a servicerequest, identify at least one service provider accepting a loyaltypoint for fulfilling the service request, receive, from the first userdevice, location data corresponding to a geographical locationassociated with the requested service , identify at least one seconduser device associated with a second user identification in accordancewith the received location data of the first user device and locationdata of the at least one second user device, the second useridentification having sufficient loyalty points to procure the requestedservice from the at least one identified service provider, wherein thelocation data of the at least one service provider corresponds to ageographical location of the first user device, and establish a securecommunications link between the first user device and the at least oneidentified second user device, wherein the loyalty points associatedwith the second user identification are utilized to procure therequested service from the at least one identified service provider forthe first user identification and wherein a value of the loyalty pointsfrom the at least one identified second user device to be usedcorresponds to a geographical proximity between the first user deviceand the at least one service provider.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinthe memory further comprises instructions which are executed by theprocessor, causing the processor to: identify a geographical locationbetween the geographical location of the first user device and thegeographical location of the at least one identified service provider;and communicate, via the secure communications link, the identifiedgeographical location to the first user device and the at least oneidentified service provider.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the atleast one identified service provider is associated with the at leastone identified loyalty program, and wherein the identified geographicallocation is a physical location of the at least one identified serviceprovider.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the memory further comprisesinstructions which are executed by the processor, causing the processorto: identify at least one loyalty point having an increased value inaccordance with the geographical location of the first user device;communicate, via a secure communications link, user identificationinformation associated with the first user device to the at least oneidentified service provider associated with the at least one loyaltypoint having increased value; and identify the at least one serviceprovider to the first user device.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thememory further comprises instructions which are executed by theprocessor, causing the processor to: track, in real time, a plurality ofservice transfers amongst users utilizing a plurality of loyalty pointsrelative to an intermediate point; determine, from the tracking, anexchange rate relating each of the plurality of loyalty points to theintermediate point in accordance with a track result; determine, foreach of the identified set of service providers, an amount of loyaltypoint respective to each of the identified set of service providersrelative to the intermediate point in accordance with the exchange rate;and generate, via display of an associated user device, graphicalindicia representative of each loyalty point relative to theintermediate point.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory furthercomprises instructions which are executed by the processor, causing theprocessor to: determine, from the identified service provider,personally identifiable data of the first user necessary to utilize therequested service; generate, via the first user device, an encrypteddata communique comprising the personally identifiable data of the firstuser; and communicate, via the secure communications link, the encrypteddata communique of the personally identifiable data of the first useridentification to the service provider.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the memory further comprises instructions which are executed bythe processor, causing the processor to: determine, at least onecombination of disparate loyalty points for procuring the requestedservice; identify a combination of a plurality of user identificationsdiffering from the first user identification having sufficient loyaltypoints associated therewith to combine to fulfill the requested service;establish the secure communications link between the first user deviceand each user device corresponding to the combination of the pluralityof user identifications, wherein the combination of disparate loyaltypoints are utilized to procure the requested service for the first useridentification.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the loyalty point is avirtual currency.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the virtual currencyis at least one of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, XRP, USD Coin, BinanceCoin, or Solana.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographicalproximity corresponds to a close physical proximity, wherein an image ona display of the first user device is capable of being scanned by the atleast one identified service provider.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the image displayed on the display of the at least one seconduser device is a QR code.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the securecommunications link is a near-field communication link.
 13. A method fortransferring a service associated with a loyalty point to a first userdevice from a second user device, the method comprising: receiving arequest via a web site hosted by a server over a communications networkfrom a first user device, the request including first useridentification information and a service request; identifying at leastone service provider accepting a loyalty point for fulfilling theservice request; receiving, from the first user device, location datacorresponding to a geographical location associated with the servicerequest; identifying at least one second user device associated with asecond user identification in accordance with the received location dataof the first user device and location data of the at least one seconduser device, the second user identification having sufficient loyaltypoints to procure the requested service from the at least one identifiedservice provider, wherein the location data of the at least one serviceprovider corresponds to a geographical location of the first userdevice; directing the first user device and the second user device to ameeting location different from the location of the first user deviceand the location of the second user device; establishing a securecommunications link between the first user device associated with thefirst user identification and the second user device associated with thesecond user identification at the meeting location to procure therequested service from the at least one identified service provider anda value of the loyalty points from the second user device to be usedcorresponding to a geographical proximity between the first user deviceand the at least one service provider; utilizing, in accordance with thesecure communications link, the loyalty points by the second useridentification via the second user device to procure the requestedservice for use by the first user identification; and communicating, viathe secured communications link, confirmation data indicative of theprocurement of the requested service from the second user device to thefirst user device.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein identifying theat least one service provider further comprises identifying a set ofservice providers providing services meeting one or more requirementsincluded in the received request.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereinestablishing a secure communications link further comprises:determining, from the identified service provider, personallyidentifiable data of the first user necessary to utilize the requestedservice; generating, via the first user device, an encrypted datacommunique comprising the personally identifiable data of the firstuser; and communicating, via the secure communications link, theencrypted data communique of the personally identifiable data of thefirst user identification to the second user device.
 16. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising: tracking, in real time, a plurality ofservice transfers amongst users utilizing a plurality of loyalty pointsrelative to an intermediate point; determining, from the tracking, anexchange rate relating each of the plurality of loyalty points to theintermediate point; determining, for each of the identified set ofservice providers, an amount of loyalty point respective to each of theidentified set of service providers relative to the intermediate pointin accordance with the exchange rate; and generating, via display of anassociated user device, graphical indicia representative of each loyaltypoint relative to the intermediate point.
 17. The method of claim 13,wherein the secure communications link is a near-field communicationslink.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the loyalty point is a virtualcurrency, and wherein the virtual currency corresponds to a least one ofBitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, XRP, USD Coin, Binance Coin, or Solana.
 19. Asystem for transferring a service associated with a loyalty point to afirst user device from a second user device, comprising: a server,comprising: a processor; and memory in communication with the processor,the memory storing instructions which are executed by the processorcausing the processor to: receive a request from a first user deviceover a communications network, the request including first useridentification information, a geographical location of the first userdevice, and a service request, identify at least one service provideraccepting a loyalty point for fulfilling the service request, identifyat least one second user device associated with a second useridentification, the second user identification having sufficient loyaltypoints to procure the requested service from the at least one identifiedservice provider, establish a secure communications link between thefirst user device and the at least one identified second user device,wherein the loyalty points associated with the second useridentification are utilized to procure the requested service from the atleast one identified service provider for the first user identificationand wherein a value of the loyalty points from the at least oneidentified second user device to be used corresponds to a proximitybetween the first user device and the at least identified serviceprovider; receive, from the first user device, location datacorresponding to a geographical location of the requested service;identify the at least one second user device in accordance with thereceived location data of the first user device and correspondinglocation data of the at least one identified service provider; identifya geographical location between the geographical location of the firstuser device and a geographical location of the at least one identifiedsecond user device; communicate, via the secure communications link, theidentified geographical location to the first user device and the atleast one identified second user device; track, in real time, aplurality of service transfers amongst users utilizing a plurality ofloyalty points relative to an intermediate point; determine, from thetracking, an exchange rate relating each of the plurality of loyaltypoints to the intermediate point in accordance with a track result;determine, for each of the identified set of service providers, anamount of loyalty point respective to each of the identified set ofservice providers relative to the intermediate point in accordance withthe exchange rate; and generate, via display of an associated userdevice, graphical indicia representative of each loyalty point relativeto the intermediate point, wherein the secure communications link isestablished between the first user device and the at least oneidentified second user device at the geographical location identifiedbetween the geographical location of the first user device and thegeographical location of the at least one identified second user device.20. The system of claim 19, wherein the loyalty point is a virtualcurrency, and wherein the virtual currency corresponds to a least one ofBitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, XRP, USD Coin, Binance Coin, or Solana.